Ruth Greenlaw is a nature-based artist in Durham region who works in a realistic style in various media. She earned an Honours BA in Visual Arts at Western University and studied at several other art schools as well. Her artwork has earned many awards in Durham region.

   Flowers and trees have been some of her enduring interests. She enjoys drawing the small details of a plant as well as depicting its life cycle. When Ruth looks at a plant, she asks herself how the leaf and flower join the stem. By looking and drawing, her eye finds the answers and her hand describes them visually.

   The media Ruth uses for drawing are pencil, pen and ink, and printmaking. Her press enables her to work in etching, drypoint and monoprinting. To learn about the etching process, look at the photos in Ruth’s “Etchings, Monoprints, Drypoints” collection on her website, ruthgreenlaw.com. She presses plants and applies ink to them to create her monoprints. Ruth combines and layers her drawings, monoprints and etchings to express the connections between plants, insects and birds, and, sometimes, the passage of time.

   When the colours of flowering plants and leaves inspire her to paint them, Ruth’s most immediate tool is a stick of pastel. It is full of vibrant pigment and allows her to work boldly with colour. When she wishes to work in detail, Ruth chooses watercolour. She loves it for its botanical precision as well as watery effects. Both media are great for landscapes and life studies, too.

  Ruth is disappointed that, because of Covid, she has not been able to show her art in person. Ruth has missed the interaction with people who are interested in her work, but has continued to draw and paint focussing on the beauty of Durham region and beyond.

 The following are three recent juried shows for which Ruth’s work was chosen:

 Japanese Paper Place Online Show, “Resilience and Renewal,” October, 2021. Her Japanese paper drawing, “Return of the Monarch,” was accepted.

 Pastel Artists Canada Annual Online Juried Exhibition, November, 2021. Her pastel painting, “Autumn Textures,” was accepted. (Ruth has attained PAC status.)

 Station Gallery Annual Show, December, 2021. Her drawing, “Touched by the Sun,” was accepted.